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The Foundation
"The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse." --James Madison
Government & Politics
A 'Party of No' Could Get 'Yes' Votes in November
A winning message for Republicans
In a Super Bowl pre-game interview, Barack Obama announced that he wants to have a televised meeting with both Republicans and Democrats to discuss ideas about crafting health care legislation. Imagine that -- an open debate with both parties equally represented, hashing out plans and crafting a bill using the best ideas brought to the table. In 2008, Candidate Obama told us that was how health care reform would come to pass in his new bipartisan and transparent Washington. The reality has been far different, though entirely predictable to those who recognized him for what he is: a socialist.
Legislation was crafted not to reform health care, but to put it solely under government control. Deals were made behind closed doors, and yet, even with bulletproof majorities in both chambers, the Democrat Congress has not passed a health care bill.
Now Obama is pretending to play the role of peacemaker, but he views bipartisanship as Republicans submitting to his will. Indeed, he won't agree to scrap the existing legislation and start from scratch, even though the public has made its distaste for the bills quite clear.
House Minority Leader John Boehner has made dropping the current legislation a prerequisite for Republicans to come to the table. It is, after all, a waste of time to debate a bill that's essentially dead. Republicans want to cut costs while Democrats want a health insurance entitlement for all. Both sides want to prevent insurance companies from rejecting ill customers, but Democrats, beholden to trial lawyers, reject the common-sense cost-cutting idea of tort reform, among other free-market measures. Unfortunately, neither side is talking about the constitutional role of government.
Even if the meeting happens, both sides are so deeply entrenched that a compromise is rather unlikely. Besides, Obama may be trying to set a political trap of sorts for Republicans by wooing them to the table, offering them a bad deal, then once again accusing them of being "The Party of No," that mantra so often repeated by his accomplices in the Leftmedia.
Such a label wouldn't be bad, however, considering that the alternative means going along with a plan that would raise taxes, remove competition in the insurance industry, drive down the quality of health care in our country, and add hundreds of billions -- if not trillions -- of dollars to the national debt.
In fact, when combined with advocating fiscal responsibility and constitutional Rule of Law, "Just Say No to Socialism" sounds like a winning formula for Republicans come November. Of course, the GOP would have to awaken from its stupor first.
RIP: Rep. Jack Murtha, the Marine Corpse
On Monday, longtime Pennsylvania Democrat Congressman John Murtha died after complications arising from gallbladder surgery. He was 77.
The Leftmedia headlined his obituaries "U.S. Representative Murtha, Supporter of Troops, Dies at Age 77" and "Pa. Dem Murtha remembered as military advocate." Given his actual history, however, this is the sort of revisionism that was heaped upon the citizens of Oceania in George Orwell's "1984": "We've always been at war with Eastasia."
While many lauded the head of the House defense appropriations subcommittee as a "staunch supporter of the military," he's better known in military circles for his blindly partisan criticism of the Long War and his hasty indictment of eight fellow Marines for supposedly "murdering" innocent civilians "in cold blood" in Haditha, Iraq. (All but one of the defendants have been cleared or had charges dropped; the other is awaiting court-martial.) While Murtha may have had legitimate questions about the tactics used to fight the enemy in Iraq, many took offense at his characterization of our military as cold-blooded killers.
The press conveniently forgets this and other transgressions, such as the ABSCAM scandal of the 1980s, in which Murtha escaped indictment by the skin of his teeth, or, more accurately, by the "D" after his name. The Leftmedia focused instead on his early military life and perceived service to his district by securing dozens of earmarks for projects there.
While we praise Murtha's personal service to the Marine Corps (or as the commander in chief would say, "Marine Corpse"), which spanned nearly four decades on active duty and as a reservist, we cannot condone his behavior once he went from serving his country on the field of battle to representing his district and nation in the halls of Congress. Too often did he epitomize the "culture of corruption" that his good friend Nancy Pelosi hypocritically opposed.
History is a harsh judge when men of character falter. A life which was devoted to service fell into one which was merely self-serving, and Marines everywhere must be saddened that one of their own met his Maker without recanting those false accusations against eight of his brothers.
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New & Notable Legislation
Senate Democrats had hoped to offer President Obama a legislative victory with an $80 billion "jobs bill," otherwise known as "Stimulus II" (or is it III, IV or V?). But Thursday, they dropped the bill in favor of a leaner version without unrelated pork. The centerpiece is still $13 billion to exempt companies from Social Security payroll taxes for previously unemployed new hires in 2010. Other incentives include renewing expired business tax credits, extending unemployment benefits, and suspending a cut in Medicare payments to physicians. The White House is predicting growth of 95,000 jobs per month in 2010, but not even the Associated Press buys that. The AP notes the obvious: "[C]ompanies are unlikely to hire workers just to receive a tax break." Besides, after hiding the loss of over 800,000 additional jobs in 2009, who can trust any figures that these elitists produce?
Blue Dog Democrats plan to propose a bill that will cap discretionary spending at specific levels, going further than the president's anemic $250 billion decade-long non-discretionary spending freeze. The sheer size of the Blue Dog coalition -- 54 House Democrats -- means that whatever proposal they come up with will have to be given serious consideration by the majority.
A bill by Rep. Peter King (D-NY) to prevent federal funding for civilian trials of Guantanamo Bay detainees in civilian courts is picking up steam. Sixteen Republican and two Democrat cosponsors have joined King, and he is confident the bill will pass if it is brought to a floor vote. Beyond the House bill, both U.S. senators from New York, the New York City mayor, police commissioner, and the state Senate have voiced opposition to holding the 9/11 terror trials in Manhattan.
Tea Party National Convention
Tea Partiers once again sailed into a sea of controversy last week as more than 600 people from around the country attended the first "National Tea Party Convention" held at the landlocked Gaylord Opryland Hotel & Convention Center in Nashville. The event culminated with more than 1,100 people enjoying a keynote dinner speech by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, which was also broadcast around the country on cable.
You might think that the storm was due to mainstream media's vulgar derision of attendees as "tea baggers" or the tamer "Astroturfers" -- but you would be wrong. Larger issues seemed to erupt concerning sponsor Judson Phillips and his for-profit Tea Party Nation, the location, ticket fees, hotel rates, travel costs, Sarah Palin, her purported speaker's fee, the colors of the tablecloths and napkins, and just about everything else.
While the event may not have represented all Tea Party organizations as the convention title might suggest, it's difficult for us to take seriously the disparagement that ensued over like-minded people exercising their right to assemble peaceably, freely paying the known costs (nothing hidden, except the hotel and gasoline taxes) and enlightening themselves with whatever the conference offered.
Skepticism, especially in politics, is healthy, but contempt is not. This hullabaloo over a sold-out conference of willing participants had all the hallmarks of Leftmedia agitation.
The Tea Party is the mother of all big-tent movements. There is plenty of room, and need, for Tea Partiers of all stripes and in all places -- including those willing to fork over big bucks for a weekend confab. However, to be most effective, we must all remain focused on the fact that the Rule of Law is being usurped by the rule of men, and we must each play our part to work diligently at electing honorable representatives to replace the current hegemony in Washington.
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